The Future of Teaching...
This year I was very fortunate to be invited as a guest to the summer informal ATL Future Steering Group meeting. This involved an overnight stay at Crewe Hall with two days of discussion working on pertinent issues in education such as pay and conditions, and workload.
Before attending this meeting I had only been involved with ATL insofar as attending the CPD sessions they arrange. However, during those two days I felt a real sense of making a difference, with the potential to impact future decision making.
On arriving I was thrilled to discover the hotel was a historical house, though on parking next to the Ferrari in my little Suzuki Alto I did feel a little like Rachel Trotter arriving in the Del boys van!
The people I have met were not the militant unionists that my preconceptions might have anticipated; they were however passionate, concerned educationalists. They were the people, that like me are worried about the future of education for students and staff alike.
Although the conference did not aid me per se with the teachers' standards, the experience gained in collaborating with other professionals and developing knowledge of other types of schools and age ranges was invaluable. In addition to the pleasure of socialising with like minded people during the 'just for fun' quiz in the evening.